Chapter 18 - Caleb
That spike of fear moves through our mental channel like a crack of lightning, slamming into my chest so hard that it stops me in my tracks.
It resonates, letting me feel every ounce of Lila’s panic.
And with no hesitation, no second thought, I’m moving.
Shifting mid-step, the world tilts around me, bones moving and reforming as I hit the ground all in the same breath.
Jack and the others look towards me, startled by the sudden change, but I’m already gone. The momentum carries me through the woods and brush, swerving around every obstacle in my path.
The intensity in her silent call to me rings in my mind, along with their voices.
Lila and Astrid.
I surge forward with the cold clarity of a predator, rippling with nothing short of purpose.
There’s no room for fear or doubt when they’re involved.
Branches whip past as I follow the signatures of distress, and the mental link thrums between us while her every emotion seeps into me. That anger and desperation tell me everything I need to know.
Swift and silent, I navigate towards her. She needs me steady, not frantic.
Lila’s panic spikes again, and I can hear her shouting Astrid’s name in her mind, then calling for me. Those words pierce through the distance between us, hitting me again and again, making my heart pound from the exertion of running as fast as I can.
I hear them before I see them. One wolf snarls while two others surround the girls.
Wraith Peak, as predicted.
Bursting through the trees with my jaws wide, I slam into the man closest to Lila, closing my teeth around his neck before he can move, silencing his cry.
Astrid screams as Jack comes out next, rolling the shifted wolf over and pinning it with a sharp snarl. The other man only manages to back away from her when I’m on him, looming with tight muscles as I growl in his face.
The two of them freeze, eyes wide with recognition.
They know who I am and what I am. Good.
I snarl at them both in warning, ears pinned back while my teeth are an inch away from the man’s neck. The threat is there, and they’re well aware.
Before I can do worse, I step back, ease off enough to let him run off, barreling into the woods as he shifts and hurries off. The other wolf yelps, then frees itself from beneath Jack’s paw.
They retreat, fading into the forest. Then, the tension slowly lifts, leaving behind Lila’s ragged breaths and my steady heartbeat.
Finally, I turn, looking towards Lila while she clutches Astrid, who’s still shaking with her face tucked into her mother’s shoulder. Her clothes are dirt-streaked, and her cheeks are flushed from the struggle.
That rage still burns inside me, even if they’re gone.
They touched my family.
The words hit me with unexpected force, but I don’t question them.
Instead, I step between them and the dead Wraith Peak man, blocking his body from Astrid’s sight, and I reach for our mental link.
Take Astrid back to the house. We need to talk.
Lila flinches as I reach her mind, but even through her daze, she nods. Despite being safe now, that lingering fear still eats away at her, and at me in return.
I’ll follow from the trees.
She doesn’t question me. Instead, Lila gets up, picking Astrid up before moving on stiff legs through the woods.
Jack and the others stick around to handle the body, while I follow at a short distance, keeping hidden as I track the girls.
Without severing it completely, I pull myself back from the connection long enough to shield my thoughts from her. I don’t like secrecy, but I don’t want her prying, even by accident, right now.
That’s the second time Wraith Peak wolves have surrounded them, risking being seen and caught by me. This time, they closed in further, fully prepared to take them.
But why? Why do they want them so badly?
The thought gnaws at me the whole way home.
I hold my wolf form all the while, just in case anyone, or anything, decides to try their luck again. If anyone does try, I want every advantage I can have.
When Lila glances over her shoulder at me, looking for me in the trees while she follows the path back through town, I push reassurance down the bond, silently letting her know I’m still here.
Eventually, they reach the house, and I wait until they’re inside before shifting back. I stretch my arms as I get used to standing on two legs again, and I grab a pair of sweats from a bin kept outside before heading in.
Astrid is half-asleep against Lila’s shoulder, exhausted after the shock of it all.
She’s held tightly, protectively, as if Lila can’t stand to part with her yet.
But, she eventually takes her into the bedroom and lays her down before returning.
She leaves the door open just a crack before turning to me, eyes blazing with residual fear and anger.
“What the hell was that?” she asks, voice hoarse.
“I’m still trying to figure that out.”
Lila’s jaw clenches as she looks up at me. “I thought we were supposed to be safe here. So then why did they try to take my daughter?”
“I don’t know, but that’s exactly why I didn’t want the two of you wandering around without me.”
“What, we can’t even take a walk through town without being threatened?”
I pull in a breath to calm myself before taking a small step towards her. “They weren’t here for no reason, I know that much. They were clearly after something, and I think you know what it is.”
Lila stiffens. “I don’t. I have no idea why.”
“Lila,” I murmur, voice lowered but not cruel. “Don’t lie to me, not about this. Not while yours and Astrid’s safety are in jeopardy.”
Something moves in her jaw, and she pushes silence between us.
Then, with a resigned breath, her eyes soften into something more concerned. She rubs at her temple, voice quiet. “It’s Astrid.”
“What about her?”
Lila swallows hard, silently debating not saying anything before the words finally leave her. “She has… abilities.”
Everything in me goes incredibly still, and I don’t look away from her. “What abilities?”
“Magic ones.”
Magic. Astrid possesses the ability to use magic, and that’s why they’re after her.
I blink back at her in disbelief. How did I not know?
“Magic use is forbidden here. If humans were to see it—”
“You don’t think I know that?” Lila snaps at me, voice far more intense than it ever has been. “I know it… That’s why I kept her away on the outskirts since she started showing signs. That’s why I kept her hidden and stayed away.”
Her voice breaks into something more vulnerable as tears line her eyes, unspilling.
“Magic usually gives off some kind of signature. How has nobody else found out?”
Lila collects herself with a deep breath, arms wrapped around herself for comfort. “Because I’m the same. I have just enough strength to mask it, shielding her, and in turn, shielding everyone else.”
My brows pinch together. “You’ve been suppressing it all this time?”
She nods, expression slowly giving away her exhaustion. “Yes. But it’s getting harder to contain it as she gets older. She’s… strong. Far stronger than I expected.”
So many thoughts tremble through my mind at once, but I run a hand through my hair as the realization of it all settles in my skin.
“Lila… magic isn’t just forbidden here. It’s shunned and hunted. It’s… unpredictable at best, and a threat to the way we do things. It’s a liability.”
“I know that,” she utters, looking utterly broken. “Believe me, there’s nothing you can say that I haven’t already told myself a thousand times over. I didn’t just hide her away for fun.”
I sit with that revelation, struggling to find a way to handle this while complying with pack code, and without making her hate me more.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Lila scoffs, bordering on a bitter laugh. “Really? After everything… how you treated me before, casting me aside just to turn around and force this bond onto me, and you actually think I’d tell you? You don’t get to act betrayed.”
Anger rises inside me, but I urge it to stay down. I know she has her reasons, even if they’re grating.
“I’m not talking about us. I’m talking about her safety.”
Lila’s glare sharpens. “That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you.”
I hesitate at that, taking in her unwavering expression. Her words burn more than I want to admit.
“Did you really think I’d let anything happen to her if you did?”
“Yes,” she says, not missing a beat. Not needing to think about it as hurt passes through her eyes. “Because I watched you let things happen to me.”
She might as well have sucker-punched me in the gut. It would’ve hurt less.
At my pause, Lila pulls in a shaky breath and averts her gaze.
“You weren’t there when she started showing signs, and you didn’t see how terrified I was.
You didn’t have to hold her while she cried, and you didn’t have to see the look on her face when she didn’t understand why she had to hide what she’s capable of.
She’s sensitive, Caleb… and her powers don’t negate her innocence. ”
The pain in her eyes is clear as day, and my throat tightens.
“So yes, I kept it from you and everyone else. She’s my daughter, and if coming out with it meant anyone trying to take her from me, then I’d rather die trying to suppress it than let that happen.”
The way she says those words, with such conviction and honesty, is dizzying in a way, stopping me from finding the right thing to say in return.
Being privy to this information feels like a double-edged sword for me.
On one hand, I have an answer for why Wraith Peak is after Astrid, but on the other, I’m burdened with the knowledge of that secret.
As Alpha, I have a duty to my pack. I have codes and ethics to follow. I am the one who makes decisions, and their safety is in my hands.
Astrid wielding magic… that could be detrimental.
And yet, she’s everything to Lila. She’s becoming everything to me, too.
It feels like an impossible position to be put in, and all I can do is stare at her.
The fear in her eyes isn’t for herself. Now I know it never was.